If you’re going to San Francisco, don’t go putting flowers in your hair because they might clog your ears and you won’t be able to hear all of the great bands playing at the huge assortment of music venues in SF.

San Francisco is home to a long musical history, beginning most prominently with the 1960s when The Haight alone was home to some of the biggest – and most free-spirited – bands in the country.

Seminal San Francisco music venues are known the world over; places like The Warfield, the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium, The Great American Music Hall, The Fillmore, and The Independent have all been keeping live music lovers happily shaking in their shoes for decades.

Music venues with a smaller capacity but no less important to the overall music scene include Bottom of the Hill, where up-and-coming bands continue to amaze die-hard fans, while a powerful array of DJ-centric clubs can be found Downtown and in the formerly industrial SoMa district.

Rock, rap, hip-hop, trance, electronica, and everything in-between are all prevalent at these myriad music venues, and even people who don’t know a DJ from a PB & J know Rickshaw Stop is an ideal place for the 18+ crowd to let loose to dance friendly mixes, while Bimbo’s 365 in North Beach and Slim’s in SoMa remain key stops for both well-known and soon to be famous performers.

And then of course there are all the great live music festivals like Outside Lands and Treasure Island Music Festival, both of which draw thousands out into the open air (regardless of the fog).